Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic bronchitis, emphysema and vascular remodelling. The disease is associated with hypoxia, inflammation and oxidative stress. Lung fibroblasts are important cells in remodelling processes in COPD, as main producers of extracellular matrix proteins but also in synthesis of growth factors and in

Laser cladding (LC) is a promising technique to overlay a protective coating on grey cast iron (GCI) brake discs to enhance the wear and corrosion resistance. This study utilized a pin-on-disc tribometer in an aerosol chamber to investigate the tribology and airborne particle emissions from tungsten carbides (WC) reinforced coating overlayed onto GCI substrate through laser cladding. Uncoated GCI

Background: The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy has significantly improved the life expectancies of children and adolescents living with HIV, leading to an increased number transitioning to adult care. However, there has been a lack of studies in Ethiopia focusing on factors influencing the success of this transition. Therefore, this study aimed to determine predictors of a su

Background: The utilisation of digital technology in primary healthcare, particularly digital patient management platforms, has gained prominence, notably due to the global pandemic. These platforms are positioned as substitutes for face-to-face consultations and telephone triage. They are seen as a potential solution to the escalating costs associated with an aging population, increasing chronic

Children's interactions with nature are important mediators of health benefits and future relationships with nature and conservation. However, there are growing concerns that children are becoming disconnected from nature as societal changes make natural environments and their affordances less accessible. There is now a need to explore ways to reconnect children to nature. We evaluated bird feedin

Green surfactants, categorized as biobased and biosurfactants, pose formulation challenges due to their compositional variability and biodegradability. Our work addresses these challenges in formulating a hard surface cleaning spray. We utilize glucamide surfactants with a high renewable carbon index (RCI=95 %), incorporating limonene as both solvent and perfume. Additionally, the concept of formu

The study of rapid and stochastic events that involve multiple species, such as chemical reactions and plasma dynamics, requires means to capture multispectral information in two dimensions at both high temporal- and spatial resolution. Commercially available cameras that provide high temporal resolution are based on either signal intensification or rapid data acquisition. Intensified cameras prov

This paper estimates how electricity price divergence within Sweden has affected incentives to invest in photovoltaic (PV) generation between 2016 and 2022 based on a synthetic control approach. Sweden is chosen as the research subject since it is the only member of the European Union with multiple bidding zones (BZ) that faces dramatic price divergence between low-tariff BZ in Northern and high-t

Background: Obesity is a major public health concern associated with various health problems, including respiratory impairment. Bioelectrical impedance (BIA) is used in health screening to assess body fat. However, there is no consensus in healthcare on how body fat should be assessed in relation to lung function. In this study, we aimed to investigate how BIA in relation to waist circumference co

Background: Acute mesenteric ischaemia (AMI) is a life-threatening disease where early diagnosis is critical to avoid morbidity and mortality from extensive irreversible bowel necrosis. Appropriate prediction of presence of bowel necrosis is currently not available but would help to choose the optimal method of treatment. The study aims to identify combinations of biomarkers that can reliably iden

Performance in tests of various cognitive abilities has often been compared, both within and between species. In intraspecific comparisons, habitat effects on cognition has been a popular topic, frequently with an underlying assumption that urban animals should perform better than their rural conspecifics. In this study, we tested problem-solving ability in great tits Parus major, in a string-pull

The recent colder winters in midlatitude Eurasia have been proposed to result from Arctic sea-ice decline. However, large uncertainties remain regarding this link in the present variable climate. Here, we present ice-rafted debris records from the eastern Arctic and geochemical data from the temperate East China Sea to reconstruct Holocene changes in sea ice and the East Asian winter monsoon. Our

Background: While well-established associations exist between socioeconomic conditions and smoking during pregnancy (SDP), less is known about social disparities in the risk of continuous SDP. Intersectional analyses that consider multiple social factors simultaneously can offer valuable insight for planning smoking cessation interventions. Methods: We include all 146,222 pregnancies in Sweden bet

Background: Cognitive deficits such as difficulties with attention, memory, and executive functions are frequently reported during remission from depression and relates to adverse functioning in daily life and risk of relapse. There is therefore a need for interventions targeting cognitive deficits after depression. However, few randomized controlled trials have investigated the efficacy of interv

Recently, many forms of audio industrial applications, such as sound monitoring and source localization, have begun exploiting smart multi-modal devices equipped with a microphone array. Regrettably, model-based methods are often difficult to employ for such devices due to their high computational complexity, as well as the difficulty of appropriately selecting the user-determined parameters. As a

Background: The serum progesterone (P4) level during the luteal phase (LP) plays a crucial role in the initiation and maintenance of pregnancy. However, it is unclear whether the natural cycle consistently provides the best endocrine profile and whether mid-luteal serum P4 levels are always sufficient to support implantation and early pregnancy. The question has become more relevant in relation to

Background: Childhood cancers affect about 350 children every year in Sweden and are life-threatening diseases. During the treatment period, situations arise that can become morally challenging for the child. When knowing children’s values and morally challenging situations in childhood cancer care, targeted ethics support could be developed and used in care. Aim: To explore children’s values and

Workplace incivility is a pervasive issue with implications for employee well-being. Drawing upon Self-Determination Theory, this study explores the association between experienced workplace incivility, need satisfaction, and work motivation and investigates whether workplace incivility is negatively associated with autonomous work motivation. We hypothesize that experiencing workplace incivility

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a pseudocereal originally grown in the Andean region of South America. This study focused on investigating the changes in phenolic profile and antioxidant capacity in white and red quinoa varieties after short-term fermentation with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v®. During fermentation, pH and lactic acid formation were monitored every three hours until pH